30 September 2026

 

THE rollout of the nurses is in addition to the more than 6,700 nurses and midwives recruited over the last three years to rebuild our health system after a decade of neglect under the Liberals.

 

The expansion means more nurses on hospital wards, better support for the existing workforce and safer, higher-quality care for patients.

 

State Minister for Health Ryan Park said, “Safe staffing ratios is one of the biggest staffing reforms in generations and reinforces our commitment to backing our health workforce on the Central Coast and right across NSW.

 

“Guaranteeing the number of nurses on every shift is crucial to giving our nurses and midwives the support they need to provide world-class care to patients and relieve pressure on our hospitals.

 

“This work reflects the ongoing partnership with the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association to deliver the safe staffing ratios nurses and midwives have campaigned to achieve for over a decade.

 

“By backing our staff and ensuring they have the support they need, we’re in turn building a stronger health system for everyone.”

 

A minimum of one nurse to four patients will apply during morning and afternoon shifts across the participating wards.

 

This is the next major stage of one of the most significant hospital staffing reforms in generations.

 

Safe Staffing Levels are already being rolled out at 81 emergency departments across NSW, with 990 nurses already recruited.

 

Emergency Department Safe Staffing Levels have already been implemented at Gosford Hospital with 20 full-time employed additional nurses recruited and they are being implemented at Wyong Hospital with 28 FTE additional nurses being recruited.

 

Minister for the Central Coast and Member for Wyong David Harris said that the influx of new nurses for Central Coast’s hospitals is fantastic news for our growing region and was yet another testament to the Minns Labor Government’s commitment to providing world-class healthcare.

 

“This new cohort of nurses will go a long way to ensuring Central Coast patients continue to receive the care they need and our frontline staff are supported as our population expands," Minister Harris said.

 

“This critical boost builds on the successful recruitment of key healthcare staff across the Coast in the past couple of years and the recent $200 million redevelopment of Wyong Hospital.”

 

Planning is also underway on the rollout of Safe Staffing Levels at seven dedicated postnatal wards across NSW, which is aimed at benefiting women and families by providing further improvements to public maternity care.

 

The Coalition refused to introduce nurse to patient ratios; planned to cut 1,112 nurses; and froze health workers’ pay, causing severe health worker shortages in our hospitals.

 

The State Labor Government has made significant investments in our nursing workforce to ensure they are empowered to continue delivering exceptional care to patients and their families when they need it most. This includes:

 

• Rolling out Safe Staffing Levels in identified key areas across NSW public hospitals, with a commitment of 2,480 full-time equivalent staff;

 

• Abolishing the wages cap;

 

• Delivering the largest pay increase for nurses in more than two decades and the largest pay rise ever for the lowest paid nurses in NSW;

 

• Saving the 1,112 nurses the Liberals planned to sack;

 

• Recruitment of more health workers including over 6,700 nurse and midwives, 930 ambulance staff, 1,500 doctors and 1,800 allied health workers over the past three years;

 

• Supporting our future health workforce with study subsidies; and

 

• Helping attract and retain the essential workers NSW needs.

 

Liesl Tesch, Member for Gosford, pointed out that our nurses work tirelessly to provide world class care to patients in their greatest time of need. "Safe staffing ratios is about backing in our nurses, ensuring that they have the resources they need to do what they do best, caring for our community," she said.

 

“Since we had the honour to form government, the Minns Labor Government has done the hard work of rebuilding a healthcare system that had been neglected for over a decade by the former Liberal National Government.”

 

Member for The Entrance David Mehan said that “Without nurses, our public hospitals would not be able to deliver the service people expect and deserve on the Central Coast.

 

“I am pleased to see extra nurses being delivered as part of Labor’s commitment to safe staffing levels in our public hospitals.

 

“Extra nurses and beds are a priority of this Labor government.”

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